This is a collection of recipes from Teresa Lapetina Greco (Big Mamma), her daughter Elizabeth Greco Noviello (Mamaw), her grand daughter Marie Noviello Casazza and her great grand daughter-in-law.....Lee Casazza. My cookbook is now available in a hard cover and in Kindle on Amazon. If you live in the USA, you can order it now from my website. I will personally inscribe and sign the book for you, just leave instructions. www.leecasazzacooking.com. . . Buon appetito!

Sunday, November 15, 2015

PEAR TART

Mascarpone is
a creamy Italian cheese made from cow’s milk. The cows are fed special grasses
filled with herbs and flowers so they produce milk that is perfect for making
this cheese. Mascarpone cheese can be found in grocery stores in 8-ounce
(250-ml) containers.

Crostata di Pere.

1 ¼ cups (310
ml) pastry or all-purpose flour

¼ cup (60 ml)
granulated sugar

1 t (5 ml)
finely grated lemon zest

Pinch of salt

4 T (60 ml) cold
unsalted butter (½ stick), cut into pieces

1 egg yolk

¼ cup (60 ml)
cold cream or half-and-half (half cream)

Place the flour,
sugar, lemon juice, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the
steel blade. Pulse for a few seconds to combine.

Add the butter
and pulse a few more seconds.

In a bowl, whisk
the egg yolk and cream until combined.

With the motor
running, pour the egg yolk mixture down the feed tube and pulse just until the
dough comes together.

Turn out onto a
large piece of plastic wrap. Wrap up, flattening and forming the dough into a
disc. Chill for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to
375 F (190 C) degrees.

Lightly dust
your work surface with flour and roll the pastry out to fit a 9-inch (23-cm),
removable-bottom tart pan. Press the dough carefully up the sides, then roll
off overhang with your rolling pin and remove.

Cut a round piece
of parchment paper, to fit in the bottom and up the sides of the dough. Place
over the dough and add about 2 cups (500 ml) pie weights or dried beans on top
of the parchment paper.

Bake the crust for 20 minutes.

Let cool
slightly and remove paper and weights.

Mascarpone Cheese Filling

¾ cup (175 ml)
mascarpone cheese, room temperature

¼ cup (60 ml)
granulated sugar

1 egg

½ t (2 ml) pure
vanilla extract

1 T (15 ml)
flour

In a medium
bowl, stir together the mascarpone cheese, sugar, egg, vanilla, and flour until
well combined. Pour into the cooled tart shell and smooth the surface.

3 medium-size
ripe Anjou or Bosc pears

¼ cup (60 ml)
unsalted hazelnuts, chopped

2 T (30 ml)
granulated sugar

3 T (45 ml)
apricot jelly

2 T (30 ml)
Calvados or peach brandy

Preheat oven to
325 F (160 C) degrees.

Peel and cut the
pears in half and remove the core with a melon baller or a spoon.

Arrange in the
tart shell with the narrower ends pointing towards center.

If necessary,
trim the pears to fit into the tart.

Scatter the
hazelnuts over the pears and sprinkle the sugar on top.

Place on a
baking sheet and bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until golden and the pears are
soft.

Heat the apricot
jelly in a small saucepan, or microwave it just until warm.

Turn off heat
and add the Calvados or peach brandy and mix to combine.

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About Me

I self-published my first cookbook and I am very proud to say it was printed in the United States! Every recipe has a photo and they were not photo shopped and a stylist was not used. The food was real and I took the photos before the food was served.

When I tasted the "Sunday Gravy" prepared by my husband's mother, grandmother, and even his great grandmother, "Big Mamma"—I was hooked. Teresa Lapetina and Vincenzio Greco sailed to America from Naples in 1898.They were from the small town of Picerno in the province of Potenza in the southern region of Basilicata. They have all departed us now. . .ora sono la mamma!